JONESBORO, Ark. (2/22/18) – The Arkansas State men’s basketball team got a season-high 24 points from senior guard Rashad Lindsey, while also holding Appalachian State to 7-of-30 shooting over a 23 minute stretch to overcome a 15-point first-half deficit and claim an 82-79 overtime win Thursday night at First National Bank Arena.

Playing their second overtime game in their last four outings, the Red Wolves snapped a three-game skid to improve their overall record to 10-18 and Sun Belt Conference mark to 5-10. Appalachian State, which entered the game having won three of its last four contests, now stands 12-17 overall and 7-9 in league action.

Including Lindsey, the Red Wolves were led by three players scoring in double figures as freshman guard Marquis Eaton and junior forward Tristin Walley each added 12 points. Appalachian State also had three players reach double figures, paced by junior guard Ronshad Shabazz’s game-high 32 points.

Both teams shot 43 percent from the field, and although A-State was outrebounded 41-38, it finished with four more assists (15-11), four more blocks (7-3), four fewer turnovers (15-19) and four more steals (12-8).

The game, which featured 13 ties and five lead changes, also saw both squads shoot 36 percent from beyond the arc, but A-State made 20-of-29 free throws in comparison to the Mountaineers’ 12-of-18 performance at the stripe.

How It Happened (First Half):

Appalachian State made 10 of its first 14 shots as it jumped out to a 27-12 lead, its largest of the game, just over 11 minutes into the contest. However, A-State responded with a 17-2 run to tie the score at 29-29 with 2:44 left before the break.

While the Mountaineers were able to regain the advantage and take a 34-31 lead into halftime, they scored just seven points over the final 10:58 of the first half.

How It Happened (Second Half):

Arkansas State’s defense continued to give Appalachian State trouble for much of the second half as the Mountaineers managed just 14 points over the initial 11:41. The Red Wolves went on a 25-11 run during the span to take a 56-45 lead with 8:45 left to play.

Appalachian State bounced back at that point with an 11-0 run to force a 56-56 tie at the 6:39 mark. With the score still tied 67-67 with 2:55 remaining in regulation, the teams exchanged the lead two more times before heading to overtime deadlocked at 69-69.

How It Happened (Overtime)

The Mountaineers took their first overtime lead midway through the extra period at 75-73, but A-State then went on an 8-0 run to go up 81-75 with just 23 seconds left. Appalachian State pulled back within four points 12 seconds later, but wouldn’t get any closer until hitting a layup as time expired to set the final score.

Notables:

Arkansas State won its third straight game against Appalachian State, swept its regular-season series against the Mountaineers (2-0) and evened the all-time series record at 5-5.

A-State pulled down 38 rebounds, tying its second most this season for the third time. The Red Wolves posted a season-high 40 rebounds against Howard in their fourth game of the year.

Arkansas State’s 15 assists tied their third most of the season, and it was just three assists shy of its season-best 18 recorded against Culver-Stockton on Dec. 22.

The Red Wolves’ 12 steals tied their second most this year and were just two shy of their season-high 14 against Culver-Stockton. A-State collected nine steals in the first half alone, which is more than it had total in 21 of the previous 27 games.

Arkansas State won its third game of the season when trailing at halftime.

A-State had seven blocked shots, tying its second most this season. The team had a season-best nine blocks against Henderson State.

Senior guard Rashad Lindsey scored a season-high 24 points, which were also just three shy of his career-high 27 posted Dec. 31, 2016, against Louisiana. He made a season-high nine field goals, including three 3-pointers. Lindsey has now scored in double figures nine times this season, including the last three games in a row, and 25 career times.

Arkansas State has now had a player score at least 20 points in 19 of 28 games this season.

Junior forward Tristin Walley finished with 12 points that were only one shy of his career-high 13 posted in two other outings. He reached double figures for the sixth time this season, but for the first time since Jan. 25 at Coastal Carolina. Walley also recorded a career-high three blocks and posted six rebounds. A-State has now won five consecutive games when he hauls down at least five boards.

Freshman guard Marquis Eaton scored in double digits for the fifth time this season, posting 12 points while also collecting two steals and handing out three assists.

Senior forward Tamas Bruce posted a career-high three steals, while also tying his career high for assists with three. He hauled down a team-high seven rebounds, marking the ninth time this year he’s led the squad on the boards.

Sophomore forward Salif Boudie recorded a career-high three blocks and finished with six rebounds, which were just two shy of his personal-best total.

Quoting Coach Balado:

“Obviously, I’m very proud of my team tonight. We played exceptionally well. Appalachian State had won three out of four and came in tonight having to win to stay in a certain seed in the league and our guys answered the challenge. We were down early, but we worked all week on being down 10 or points and coming back to win and sustain a lead. Everybody gave great effort and the defense tonight was the way I want to see us play with 12 steals and teams shooting 43 percent from the field. Great win for us, but I’m so proud of the way we came back and played so well for the 45 minutes tonight.”

Up Next:

Arkansas State is set to play its 2017-18 home finale Saturday, Feb. 24, when it will host Coastal Carolina at 7:00 p.m. at First National Bank Arena.